What does Danzig mean to you?

What seems like a lifetime ago I was introduced to the work of the infamous Misfits, and through that the even more infamous Glenn Danzig. At the time I was still very new to the worlds of metal and punk, so I had no real reference point for what was thrown at me. I can honestly say that up to that point in my youth I had only heard Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath/Ozzy, and Slayer. So the Misfits entered the picture and I attempted to find Samhain material, which was nowhere to be found in the rural SE Indiana area I'm from, at least in the early 90's it wasn't. So I went out and hunted down the first Danzig disc, quickly to be followed by II and III. For this naive youth it was quite an eye opener. I hadn't been exposed to anyone who used the romantic approach to anything "dark" before. So I have to honestly say that to this day I have never been able to honestly judge what these albums are truly worth to the metal community, because my bias is far too extreme in favor of them, mostly because of the timing and age that I was exposed to the material.

I certainly can't say I don't love their horned skull logo that I put on the hood of my car, but for the most part they are strong rock music. I like some of their songs but the theatrics are a little too predictable. The performance is strong but lacking in communication and sometimes energy.

...but for the most part they are strong rock music. I like some of their songs but the theatrics are a little too predictable. The performance is strong but lacking in communication and sometimes energy.

I actually agree with this for the most part, which is why I was driven to ask the question; despite the band's flaws I was curious to see if anyone else had any attachment to this musical entity.

That guitar solo part from the song "Brand New God" off their IV album is probably one of the most classic sounding in heavy metal, plus Danzig knows how to create a truly evil athmosphere which is hard to duplicate in some death metal and black metal songs.

Samhain was phenomenal, maybe I too over romanticize them because of the pivotal point in my adolescence when I first heard them, but the music still holds up. Everything Danzig has done since, I’m not so excited about. I can remember the anticipation, waiting for the first Danzig record to come out, yeah it was on DefJam, and it was hard to forgive him that horrible song on the Less Than Zero soundtrack (but if I was gonna forgive Slayer for doing Inagodadavita, I had to let Danzig slide too) I got it on release date, I was never so disappointed in anything ever. It was even worse than when as a child I found out who did Darth Vader’s voice. I even had my “Scarecrow Beast” tattoo covered.

But still Samhain is one of the greats, a lot of the 80’s doomy sludgy bands from where I’m from (New Orleans) were inspired by them.

Samhain was phenomenal, maybe I too over romanticize them because of the pivotal point in my adolescence when I first heard them, but the music still holds up. Everything Danzig has done since, I&#8217;m not so excited about. I can remember the anticipation, waiting for the first Danzig record to come out, yeah it was on DefJam, and it was hard to forgive him that horrible song on the Less Than Zero soundtrack (but if I was gonna forgive Slayer for doing Inagodadavita, I had to let Danzig slide too) I got it on release date, I was never so disappointed in anything ever. It was even worse than when as a child I found out who did Darth Vader&#8217;s voice. I even had my &#8220;Scarecrow Beast&#8221; tattoo covered.

But still Samhain is one of the greats, a lot of the 80&#8217;s doomy sludgy bands from where I&#8217;m from (New Orleans) were inspired by them.

i was too young when samhain was originally around(i didn't even buy my first danzig disc until just before 'how the gods kill' was released), and around 1992 when i went looking for samhain material for the first time it was nowhere to be found, at least where i'm from. so my experience was out of sync...misfits then danzig and then samhain last. imagine what it was like to hear only the misfits and then leaping into Danzig 1. if i had heard samhain before danzig then i would have to think that my experiences with the material would have been quite different. samhain is great stuff.

I second this. One of the few alienated bands that didn't pick some simplistic solution and preach it at you, but showed you the real depth of the difference between what made sense and what was lifeless.

I listen to Misfits with Danzig in it since I'm 8, and I have to say that it totally rocks.

They had the balls to show another facet of extreme music (at that times) and punk scene in general. It's refreshing even now with all those punk-rock shit. The romantic feeling withing the last attempt and later with Samhain is very interesting too.

Danzig always seemed afflicted with... staleness. Most of it came of as self-conscious and uninspired, with a few exceptions. Danzig is an excellent singer with a good sense of melody and how to use silence and softly sung moments to great effect.

But hands down, Misfits were just so much more vital and, as someone put it, effortless. Samhain was a step down from this, and Danzig a step further.

Dunkelheit

But hands down, Misfits were just so much more vital and, as someone put it, effortless. Samhain was a step down from this, and Danzig a step further.

I disagree here. I think Samhain was a continuation of Glenn's vision for the misfits. Some of their early songs were written to be misfits songs anyways. I think it's where he really found his sound. Danzig, on the other hand, was Rick Rubin's vision for making a better product. The band had some good lyrics here and there but I just couldn't handle the overwhelming blues influence and rock sensibilities. Either way I hold the Misfits and Samhain at just about the same level of praise.